SKILLS TO BECOME A MORE INFLUENTIAL PERSON

SKILLS TO BECOME A MORE INFLUENTIAL PERSON SKILLS TO BECOME A MORE INFLUENTIAL PERSON 1. Develop your critical decision-making skills. Decision-making is a top leadership competency because it pops up everywhere, from the simple choice of where to hold a staff meeting to the strategic options of where to spend marketing dollars. These decisions impact the people in the next cubicle, but they may also affect a subsidiary halfway across the globe or an entire country. Decisiveness is not a trait we’re born with -- it’s a skill that can be learned. To master it, analyze your process of critical decision-making to spot weak links in your reasoning and to recognize unconscious biases for or against something or someone. While we can’t control outcomes, we can shape the process that sets them in motion. Related: 3 Simple Steps for Becoming a Confident Speaker 2. Learn to make a solid argument. You may never address the United Nations Security Council or testify before Congress, but everyone should be able to put together a coherent argument. That skill is critically and frequently useful -- in high-stakes conversations, in presentations, in question-and-answer sessions and in other discussions with decision-makers or anyone else who represents a certain viewpoint or asks you to explain yours. To argue means to give reasons. It means defending and promoting your choices against the contrary arguments of equally adept influencers. Take what you’ve learned in school and build on that base with private instruction and directed reading on the relevant subject. You’ll find that your ability to think critically and analyze others’ arguments will dramatically increase your influence on their choices. 3. Become a storyteller. Storytelling has been a premier tool in influencing people across cultures and eras. Influencers tell stories for strategic purposes. From motivating people to act, to teaching, to reducing resistance and changing minds, a well-told narrative is a formidable force, often far more powerful than the mere recitation of complex financial or technical facts. Numbers and figures are important, but when it comes to showing their relationship to any issue, large or small, a strategic narrative wrapped around the digits will deliver the message better and more memorably than anything else. After you master the data, ask yourself: Is there a way to put a human face on my message? Are there real-life examples that will help me make my point in a way others can relate to? 4. Hone your speaking skills. When many of us think of influential people, we often think of those who were great speakers, such as John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan and Steve Jobs, as well as contemporaries such as Michelle Obama and Sheryl Sandberg. While many influencers operate effectively behind the scenes, those with the ability, the drive and the courage to speak persuasively have an additional source of powerful leverage. Like decision-making skills, speaking skills are in high demand. Every day in myriad organizations, corporations and schools, vast numbers of presenters strive to capture the imaginations of workers and executives and students in order to drive an agenda forward. Yet many people fear speaking in public, giving in to a panic that closes a heavy door on a fast track to success and influence. Do not shy away from speaking opportunities. Hone your message and delivery skill by repeatedly putting yourself in front of an audience, gather feedback, make adjustments, rinse and repeat. Summon the courage to speak and accept discomfort as a natural part of learning and growing. Start in smaller settings first, and then build up from there. There’s no limit to where your influence can grow with this skill. 5. Have a basic understanding of current events. You can’t have an intelligent conversation with your peers and clients if you’re stumped when faced with everyday topics such as the election, taxes, budget deficits, interest rates, markets, unemployment, economic instability in China and the meaning of all these things to the average citizen. You don’t need to be an expert on these topics, but you do need a basic understanding of them. Related: 10 Inspiring MLK Quotes on Leadership and Purpose Influence is about shaping opinion, and embarrassing holes in everyday knowledge -- the kind that force you to awkwardly steer conversations into friendlier waters -- can significantly dampen your 360-degree influencing efforts. To fill these gaps, set aside a particular time each day to learn what’s in the news. Make it a daily habit. It will require no more than 20 minutes. Test your knowledge and wit by engaging friends and colleagues in the salient topics of the day and see how far you get and whether you’re able to make a well-informed point that you can back up. It’s a low-risk strategy that allows you to gather feedback in real time with the opportunity to fill gaps just as quickly, with hundreds of news sources just a few clicks away on your smartphone. Build your knowledge incrementally and notice how others will start coming to you for information, which is, after all, a major source of influence. 6. Think like a leader. Influence is most obvious when it happens at the front of the pack. While influence can arise from any position, it is also from a position of leadership that it can make the most impact. The most successful companies develop their high-potential leaders from within. If you’re lucky enough to work for a leadership-development powerhouse such as GE, IBM or P&G, you’ve got it made, because everyone else is going to woo you to come on board with them and practice what you’ve learned. If you don’t work for one of those great firms, if your company simply doesn’t have the resources or if you’re just out of school, volunteer to head up something such as a community project, a fundraiser or anything where you can test your mettle for making difficult decisions, setting strategy and motivating people toward a goal while keeping an eye on available resources. Volunteering is an excellent start for leadership training, as is mentoring others and helping them achieve their goals. The number-one leadership rule to keep in mind: help others become successful! Your altruistic efforts are sure to influence decision-makers around you to pencil you in for a bigger job when the opportunity comes along. 7. Understand communication technology. It’s the 21st century, and even 5 year olds know about Twitter, Facebook and the latest multimedia platforms. Social media have secured a big foothold and they’re here to stay. If you don’t have an ongoing online dialogue with your customers or if you need a 19 year old to show you the ropes every time you log on to your website’s forum, you’re behind. Business is online, and customers and recruiters are looking for you to be present. Google yourself right now, and if the search produces 25 other people with your name -- but not you -- it’s time to dive in headfirst. For the majority of people with whom you’ll come in contact, your reputation and perceived influence start with what they can find about you on the Internet. Each individual, even those gifted people who seem to float easily to corporate heights, need to work on the skills that enable and enhance influence. If you develop these competencies, you will watch your influence soar

THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES FACING MARKETERS

THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES FACING MARKETERS 1. Internal coordination of marketing activities “The global marketing challenge today is a challenge of execution.” Doug West, Global marketing Director, ex Rentokil-Initial The bigger the brand, the more links in the chain. Organisational HQs have historically struggled with rolling out coordinated marketing campaigns across multiple territories. Today we have vastly improved systems and communications, but also higher expectations for relevant, localised execution. How best to achieve maximum impact? Internal coordination of complex campaigns across business units remains a key challenge on the desk for global marketers. “People tend to be focused on their own regions first and do not always understand the global context.” Grant Westbrook, Global Director of Marketing, Mintel Group Ltd Many worldwide campaign implementation models include an element of ‘adopt and adapt’; but there is some debate about how best to achieve the best results. 2. How to reach customers in a meaningful way That knockout creative concept that ticks all the boxes in one territory may fall flat in another for any number of reasons. Adapting an idea to suit different cultures and outlooks — while remaining true to the key messages behind the campaign — remains a major challenge for the global brands we spoke to. Stewarding these creative, intellectual and emotional elements safely across territories is one mighty task. But figuring out digital media on a global scale — with all the technical, media and channel options available — makes the picture even more complex. Our respondents see driving local consumer engagement at the highest possible level is an ongoing work in progress. Not surprising when you consider the differing levels of marketing maturity and digital understanding, legal and regulatory issues and cultural subtleties across the globe. For a more in-depth report on our research with big brand global marketing directors, download the full report. 3. How to measure and report, learn and improve The marketers we interviewed (including industry award-winners) all reached the ‘top of the tree’ by delivering consistent return on investment (ROI). As they look across the global brands and properties they now manage, measuring and reporting on ROI takes on a new complexity and some very significant budgets are at stake. Our respondents haven’t taken their foot off the pedal in the desire to provide transparent reporting. It’s just that the task is bigger than ever. "The biggest challenge with any global marketing role is ROI. It’s more important than ever to show the value in what you do.” John Bernard, multi award-winning Global Marketing Director, Firefox OS It’s clear that working out rock-solid objectives with associated key performance indicators (KPI) at the outset is a ‘must-have’ for balanced reporting. Yet, at the same time, global marketers have to be able to ‘flex’ the interpretation of data coming from several different environments to make it meaningful and digestible. Delivering consistent measurement across a multitude of channels and geographies remains a challenge, particularly where boards demand short-term results. 4. How to handle the creative development process A key theme emerging from our research is the on-going hunt for global campaign consistency matched by seamless local relevance. There are differing schools of thought on how to achieve this; but the mantra of ‘act global think local’ remains a central tenet for global marketing directors. Localisation of the big idea for different territories is the default for all global brand guardians, but the methodology for doing so is somewhat polarised. Whatever route people are taking, it’s clear that localisation and a focus on smart implementation are firmly on the agenda when it comes to rolling out global creative that resonates wherever it lands. It adds up to a complex picture but one in which the best managers find systems and partners to manage creative development for a wide range of implementations. 5. Understanding customer wants and needs across different segments The need to align campaigns to differing cultural and social sensitivities is well-established. It’s just part of the jigsaw our marketers need to piece together. But targeting messages on a global scale also requires a deep understanding of how industries, geography and demographics will affect messaging. Brand affinity and buying preferences are affected further by the relative strength of country economies — yet another layer of complexity. “The economic picture of different countries has to be factored in to campaigns.” Cat Allport, Head of Marketing Services, Rentokil Initial. Finally, global marketing directors must take into account the relative growth positions and potentials for multiple markets. 6. Digital, social and the new marketing How to integrate social into a wider campaign remains a focus for many global marketers. Reliable reporting about the impact of social on awareness and sales remains elusive despite the deluge of data available. Such reporting is sometimes hard to align with the more traditional ROI markers from advertising or direct marketing. “Digital media is forcing campaigns to be much more engaging. The new media is designed to allow people to talk back.” Ronnie Beltran, Group Brand Strategist, Red Fuse Communications Marketers understand the value of social but it seems its unpredictable nature is harder to control. 7. The role of technology in campaign creation and implementation There’s a risk of letting technology lead the way, while it should merely be an enabler of creative ideas, following a strategic and operational vision. Digital Asset Management (DAM) remains a tactical challenge. Brands are striving to maintain a centralised repository of marketing assets. It’s also important to know what assets are being used, what are needed, when rights expire and so on. “We mustn’t let technology be a roadblock to creativity. It should merely be an enabler, following a strategic and operational vision.” Mayur Gupta, Global Head, Marketing Technology Operations and Innovation, Kimberley-Clark Marketing automation has provided smart efficiency, and we have certainly travelled a long way down the road to personalisation in the last years. However, just how to deliver faultless, personalised advertising, at scale and worldwide, is still a nut to crack.

IF YOU STUDIED MARKETING AN OPPORTUNITY IS HERE FOR YOU TO JOIN NIGERIA MARKETING REASEARCH ASSSOCIATION THE MARKETING RESEARCH INDUSTRY IN NIGERIA The history of Nigeria‘s organized Marketing Research (industry) dates back to the sixties. This period witnessed the emergence of a Research Agency (Research Bureau, London) which offered services to the Unilever Group. This Agency was later incorporated in Nigeria as Research Bureau Nigeria Limited in 1969. At this infant stage, the industry may be described as a monopoly; with only one major player. By the turn of a few decades, the industry had metamorphosed into an oligopoly; with few organized key players which included R.I, RMS, MARP, Market Surveys and Market Trends. Major Clients then were a few multi - national companies who believed in the culture of using marketing research to drive the marketing process. They were mainly players in the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCGs) segment of the market. During the period under review, awareness level of other forms of research (Social research, Opinion Polls, Business to business research etc) was not particularly high. It was a period diverged from specialization; a period when practitioners conducted any type of research to make ends meet. A period which characterized little but sharp competition for the attention of few client overlords who had difficulty in being persuaded to shift patronage to a few daring Nigerians who ventured into the murky water of marketing research. ^Top Today, the marketing research situation has changed dramatically; both in offering and usage. We now have multiple Research Agencies servicing a portfolio of clientele that may be described as small, medium and large in terms of turnover. We have big research spenders who are not only research driven, but believe absolutely in world best practices. The industry has also experienced structural growth. A trace of specialization has emerged; the offer of exclusive services in the areas of retail audit and opinion polls are good cases in point. We have no doubt that this trend will continue. Progress has also been made in terms of capitalization and turnover. From a very low capital base (which was mostly within seven figures), capitalization has risen in geometric proportions. The case of turnover is even better. ‘Super’ Spenders in research like the conglomerates in the fmcgs; the telecom giants; the big and formidable NGOs (especially those involved in HIV/Aids, Family Planning and Malaria); the tobacco merchants; to mention a few, have all contributed towards moving the Industry’s turnover to a new level of not less than ten (10) digits. ^Top The industry has not been left far behind on the challenges of globalization. Major players have had reason to restructure their outfits to meet the global challenge. Some have got affiliated to foreign research companies to enable them collaborate and reap the benefits of internationalization. We have a couple of players in the industry who operate the research business in other African Countries. The most commendable thing is that this phenomenon is being sustained, and it has been growing over the years. The research industry is not without challenges; the huge debt issue is one of them. This is fast becoming an endemic problem. In fact, a situation where Agencies are owed for three to six months (and sometimes well over a year) after concluding a research job cannot be said to be in the best interest of sustainable growth in the industry. This practice can only push suppliers into further debts as they are constrained to indulge in (unhealthy) borrowing with its attendant high interest rates. This has constituted a veritable threat to the corporate existence of stakeholders in the industry. Although the client appears to be the beneficiary in the “arrangement”, this challenge needs urgent attention because it may hinder performance ultimately, Another critical challenge is that of achieving credible data base; particularly data collection and management. These require management commitment in terms of sound conditions of service; provision of modern state-of -the-art facilities; and institutionalization of a culture of discipline/professional ethics in the organization, co-ordination and control of data collection/management. ^Top Research on the internet is also a challenge. It remains a grey research area in Nigeria because we are yet to see a major outfit exclusively set up to offer services in this regard. We shall continue to lag behind if we do not give serious consideration to internet research; as it is presently done in Europe and America. Indeed, we must take advantage of the telecom revolution to tap into the huge market which Internet research potentially offers. NiMRA OFFICE 1, Amusa Oloyede Street Off Tokunbo Alli Street Off Toyin Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria Telephone: +234 (0) 8023076619, 08033004553 E-mail: info@nimra-ng.com